The Singer And The Photographer
by Stewbacca94
Summary: Weiss Schnee, lead singer of Ivory Frost, is desperate for intimacy. A photoshoot with a sprightly young photographer gives her some hope. Set in the same AU as The Painter and the Writer by momoxtoshiro.


The Singer and The Photographer

"I'm not your pet, not another thing you own! I was not born guilty of your crimes! Your riches and your influence can't hold me anymore! I won't be possessed, burdened by your royal test. I will not surrender this life … is … MINE!"

The crowd erupted in applause as Ivory Frost's final number faded into silence. On stage right, Lie Ren placed his Fender Jazz bass on the stand next to his Gallien-Krugers, while Jaune Arc left his Fender Telecaster next to the pair of Katanas that he and the other guitarist used. At the centre of the stage, Nora Valkyrie vaulted over her Tama & Sabian kit and cleared the drum riser, landing behind Jaune's left shoulder. Pyrrha Nikos, meanwhile, strode out gracefully from her nest of Roland keyboards on stage left. The four converged to a spot between Jaune and Pyrrha's places, where Weiss Schnee, their lead singer and rhythm guitarist, was waving to the crowds after putting her Fender Stratocaster down.

Linking arms, the five musicians took a bow before waltzing off the Amity Coliseum stage. As the technicians and workmen began the hard task of packing up the band's equipment, the band adjourned to the main dressing room to celebrate the conclusion of their first national tour. That is, except for Weiss.

"I'll be with you guys in five minutes. Just let me get changed and grab some water before I come in there."

"No worries, Weiss," Jaune responded. "We'll hold off the toast until you're there."

Weiss went into the door opposite the band's dressing room, which led to a room that served as her personal dressing room for the night. Specially soundproofed by the venue for any touring band's needs, it was big enough for a band to hang around in; however, most bands used it to give their singers a place to warm-up without disturbing the other members.

Without any ado, Weiss changed into the blue dress, black ankle-boots and thigh-high white socks she'd worn before the gig. Placing her stage outfit within the waiting laundry hamper, she took a swig from a bottle of water. As the room temperature liquid restored her voice, Weiss took a moment to reflect on the strange journey that had resulted in … well, this.

* * *

From the moment she was able to sing, Weiss had shouldered an immense burden of expectations. Her mother was deemed the greatest coloratura soprano of her generation, and her father was responsible for composing a number of successful musicals in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan in his younger years. With that, Weiss and her siblings were press-ganged into every facet of stage life. Winter, her sister, became a well-regarded actress in stage and film, while Whitley showed incredible talent for composition and piano playing. Weiss, however, took directly after her mother and was found to have talent for singing and guitar playing. Unfortunately, she was a dramatic mezzo-soprano – a fact that disappointed both of her parents to no end.

Still, Weiss persevered, and enrolled into her conservatory for the music degree she was destined for. At the finish, she was promptly recruited to star in the latest musical her father had put together for the repertory company the Schnees favoured. Alas, the role she had been promised was the wrong range, and Weiss was _humiliated _when her father refused to rework it. To add insult to injury, her mother took over the role and Weiss was relegated to chorus duty for her first production. It came as no surprise, therefore, that when Weiss finished her two-year contract with her city's repertory company at twenty-two, she took her severance pay and abandoned the pedestal she'd been chained to.

After moving into a suburban bungalow and settling in, she began to think about where she could go now. Deciding on finding any talented, _non-classical _musicians that she could work with, Weiss carefully put on a black wig and dressed as edgily as she could manage, then walked into the nearest club to her home that had a band playing.

Walking in to the club, the singer beheld a band called Ivory Frost. The quartet played a blend of jazz, metal and rock so inviting and exciting, Weiss knew _instantly _that this was what she wanted to do. Of course, the band itself already had two singers; Jaune, a wiry blonde who played electric guitar and sang tenor with equal aptitude, and an auburn-haired beauty called Pyrrha whose smoky alto voice complemented her florid, lush feel on the keyboards. They were backed by Nora, a gender-flipped clone of Ginger Baker on the drums, equally adept at finesse and strength, and an Asian pillar of serenity on bass guitar called Ren, who occasionally chipped in with an equally mellow baritone.

As a rather awestruck Weiss had seen it, the band had potential; potential that she was determined to augment and bring to fruition. So after their electrifying set, she politely enquired about joining the band as a singer who was also competent on acoustic guitar. The band agreed to an audition three days later, where Weiss's strong mezzo-soprano voice and competent, folky guitar style blew them away. However, the minute they agreed to hire her was the minute she dropped her wig. Ivory Frost were impressed that a classical singer was looking to join their small-time group, but were as willing as they were before the reveal to have her involved. Jaune even gave Weiss one of his old guitars and his spare amp to use as a sweetener.

* * *

Three years after that meeting, Ivory Frost were big news. Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos were regarded as the two tunesmiths that provided fresh air to a scene bogged down with four chord sound bites, while Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren were the best rhythm section of their genre since the days of Cream. But at the forefront with the lyrics, melodies and vocal arrangements in one hand and her guitar in the other, Weiss Schnee was the iconic face of the band. She was on a pedestal once again, but with the band alongside her. It felt less lonely than before, but there was an isolation of a different sort at work. The fact that the rhythm section and the composition team were two romantic couples likely had something to do with it.

Sighing as she finished her water, Weiss put on a gentle smile as she walked towards the band room. As soon as she entered, Jaune handed her an opened bottle of beer.

"Thanks, Jaune," Weiss said calmly, before leading the toast with the bottle raised. "Well, here's to a successful tour guys. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" the others responded. As they each took a swig of the booze, the door opened, and "Professor" Ozpin entered with a warm smile. He was their manager, and was an ex-rocker himself.

"Hey Oz," the band chorused.

"Want a drink?", Pyrrha added.

Ozpin chuckled. "Thanks, but I'm alright for now. Anyway, well done with the tour. You guys will be earning plenty with this side of the business from what I've seen. As for this month, there's one other thing we need to do; the label's arranged for a photo shoot for the next album to take place. They figured it'd be easier to do that now, then give you guys enough time off to write more tunes."

"That sounds reasonable," Ren remarked. "It would mean one less thing to organise when we're supposed to be working."

The others nodded at their voice of reason.

"Where and when is it happening?", Weiss politely asked.

"Next Saturday at noon, by the marina. I'll hire a limo and pick the lot of you up."

"Sounds reasonable," Jaune replied. "Now, I speak for all of us when I say … TIME TO PARTAY!"

He struck a pose that was equally dramatic and idiotic. Of course, it was met with raucous laughter before the rest of the band decided to do as their guitarist suggested.

* * *

The following Saturday saw a perfect summer's day greet Ivory Frost as they prepared for the last piece of work before the start of their vacation. The temperature was set to be in the low thirties, and there was nary a cloud to see amongst the azure skyline.

This idyllic morning was the first thing Weiss had noticed when she awoke, and the sight of it from her front door served to justify the fact that Ozpin was knocking on said door at eleven in the morning. Hurriedly throwing on a blue muumuu, a thin black belt and white knee-length boots, Weiss fastidiously put her hair into her trademark side ponytail as she approached her bungalow's front door with her swimming gear in hand.

"Morning Oz," Weiss blearily started. "Perfect day for some photo work, by the looks of it."

"Indeed," Ozpin smiled. "Do you require something to drink or eat on the way? It's about forty minutes drive from here to the marina."

Weiss smirked lazily towards her manager. "Coffee and pancakes; you know where I like to get them."

Ozpin chuckled as he nodded in agreement. "Very well. I do fancy some hot chocolate right now, so I'll acquiesce."

"Glad to hear it," Weiss replied as she locked the front door behind her.

Ten minutes after Weiss got in, the limo pulled up outside the semi-detached house that Jaune and Pyrrha called home, and the rest of the band called the writing room. Ozpin didn't have the time to unbuckle his seat belt before the door opened. Since Ren and Nora lived four streets away from Jaune and Pyrrha, they'd opted to meet up there and save a few minutes of travel time for the limo. Therefore, Weiss saw all four of her bandmates bound out of the house, with Pyrrha locking the door as she left last with the group's bags.

Each of them dressed impeccably well for the photo shoot; both Jaune and Ren wore Hawaiian shirts with denim shorts and white Vans, with Jaune's shirt matching his canary hair and Ren's shirt dyed dark green. Ren also had his rose-tinted glasses, which matched the board shorts and headband that Nora had donned with her tie-dye shirt and purple Converse shoes. As for Pyrrha, she wore a carmine-red sarong that covered her body along with Roman-style sandals.

_Look at them, _Weiss observed_. Together and happy. _It wasn't a big gripe, given how Weiss's life was better than ever, but she worried that it would grow if she never found someone who loved her for who she was – and not the "flawless singer" persona she'd garnered. She hid her frown and smiled softly as her friends joined her in the car.

"Hey Weiss," Jaune asked, "are there any stops along the way? We'd really kill for some coffee."

Weiss smirked lazily. "Well, that's a lovely coincidence! We indeed _are _stopping for a drink."

* * *

Five minutes later, Ivory Frost found themselves idling in the drive-through area of the golden arches.

"A coffee a day keeps Icy Weissy away!", Nora joked.

"I will pour _yours _on you if you keep it up," Weiss snarled playfully, while Ozpin finished relaying the order to the rather surprised server. It wasn't everyday that a limosuine pulled up to their place of business, after all.

"So, to confirm that order, that's two tall blacks, a flat white, two hot chocolates, a latte with three sugars, a plate of hot cakes and six vanilla slices?"

"Yes, that's right."

"That comes to $30.40, please pull up to Window 3."

Nearly four minutes later, the order came through. Jaune got his hot chocolate first, then Weiss and Pyrrha received the pair of tall blacks. Ren was then handed his flat white, before Nora got her artery-clogging latte. Keeping two of the vanilla slices and the other hot chocolate for himself, Ozpin gave the rest of the slices to the band along with Weiss's pancakes.

"OK!" Nora said as she pulled out her phone and latte. "Time for the Instagram fans to get their dose of us!"

Seeing where their drummer was going, the rest of the band readied their coffees. Nora pressed a button on the screen, and all five members drunk a sip of their coffee. A few presses later, and Nora had made a boomerang for their fans on Instagram.

"_And_ sent!", she announced quickly as the limo made it back onto the road. The band's fanbase reacted predictably to the boomerang over the next few hours; over a thousand likes and several dozen comments to sift through. However, Ivory Frost weren't concerned too much with social media; they had a day of photography ahead of them.

* * *

The marina was a sight to behold at this time of year, with the midday sun beating down warmly on the beach goers. The sapphire–hued waters were mid-way between low and high tide, and the air was light and still. This meant that whoever photographed Ivory Frost would have no trouble giving the band a glamourous look.

As one, the band exited the limo with their finished coffees, and Weiss managing to hold down the pancakes she'd devoured eagerly on the way here. Ozpin, meanwhile, had just opened his door when his phone went off.

"Hold on a moment, guys," he said before answering the call. "Ozpin speaking … Yes, we just arrived … oh splendid; I'll tell them now. See you soon."

Putting his phone away, Ozpin turned towards the band.

"I'll give you guys the space you need to work now, because the photographer's just found a park and will be coming here soon."

"No worries, Oz," Jaune responded. "Enjoy the beach."

Smiling in response, Ozpin wandered off to park his arse in the nearest coffee house and do the crosswords, while the band decided to take in their surroundings. Locals were playing games on the sand, kites and beachballs were being flown and thrown, and Weiss swore she saw a tourist family play cricket in the distant sand. All in all, it was a peaceful day in the first world. Ivory Frost themselves had unilaterally decided to go swimming after the photoshoot, and Ozpin was all too happy to enjoy a quiet afternoon to himself. Precisely two minutes after Ozpin walked off, Ivory Frost were greeted by a new voice.

"Hello everyone!"

Weiss spun around, and saw Ivory Frost's photographer for the first time. The silver-eyed girl looked no older than twenty, and possessed a shock of auburn hair that was a shade darker than Pyrrha's coiffure. A red summer dress with black knee-high boots and white tights was her choice of outfit, and slung around her neck was a DSLR camera with a large scope that was roughly worth a grand.

In short, she was _gorgeous_, and Weiss was shocked to realise it.

* * *

"You're the photographer the label sent?", Pyrrha asked politely.

"That's right!", the newcomer responded eagerly.

"What's your name?", Ren enquired.

"It's Ruby Rose," the photographer replied.

"That's funny;" Nora responded, "you don't _look _like an Australian celebrity."

It took a second for Ruby to comprehend the joke, and her laughter set off the rest of the band for half a minute.

"OK", Ruby began after regaining her composure. "First, I reckon we'll start with a few shots of you guys as a whole, followed with some individual shots, then a couple of humorous shots to finish. Sound good?"

A chorus of affirmations greeted Ruby's ears in response.

"Alrighty then! Let's get started with a shot of you guys in front of the entrance, facing towards the sea."

Ivory Frost got into position as quickly as they could manage. Jaune and Pyrrha stood to the left of Ruby's camera range, while Nora stood on a box behind Ren in the middle. Weiss, meanwhile, leant back onto Ren from the right side of the pier with arms folded. By the time they finished, Ruby had placed her camera on the tripod, and readied the focus. "OK, look badass for me guys! In three, two, one!"

Ruby pushed and held the button, and the camera clicked. With such an abundance of natural light, Ruby felt that engaging the flash would be unnecessary overkill. She took three repeat images, before suggesting a second location.

"Alright; that's good! We'll take a few facing the other way and pose around a sail boat." This proved to be easier than expected, given that the main pier had dozens to pick from. Eventually, the group found a boat with white-blue sails that matched the name of Ivory Frost.

This time, Weiss stood in the middle, with Nora sitting on the pier to her left and Pyrrha propping her left foot on the fence to her right. Ren placed himself behind Nora's left shoulder with his hands in the small of his back, and Jaune stood back-to-back with Pyrrha.

"Looks good to me," Ruby said cheerily. "For this one, just … show me how you smile! In three, two, one!"

The second that Ruby captured the image, she knew she had this gig in the bag. Two more repeat images were made, but Ruby felt safe about the monetary windfall due to come her way.

"Looking good, guys!", Ruby announced. "We may as well do the individual shots now."

"Excellent," Weiss replied. "May I go first?"

"Sure thing!"

* * *

As the pair began the iterative process of modelling photography, the rest of Ivory Frost hung around the entryway to the pier.

"So," Nora began, "how much are you lot willing to bet that Ruby will bonk Weiss senseless before long?"

This line of banter wasn't unusual for the band; Nora routinely started all manner of crazy betting pools, and the rest of the band usually partook in it. However, the other band members felt differently about this one.

"Hmm …", Ren began. "I don't know. Weiss has never mentioned anything about _that _side of things. And loathe though I am to engage in stereotyping, neither Weiss nor Ruby strike me as being gay."

"True," Jaune admitted. "Though it would be nice for Weiss to have a partner; I mean, she's quite lonely on her own."

"I know, right?", Nora added, with her verve missing for once. "You'd think she'd be able to meet someone who fancied her given her fame and all."

Pyrrha, however, remained silent throughout the conversation. She knew full well that their singer swung both ways; after all, a very drunk Weiss had hit on her late one night after their first album's recording sessions had been finished. Pyrrha forgave her for it easy enough, and willingly accepted the responsibility of keeping the factoid secret when a hungover Weiss remembered just what had transpired the next morning.

However, with the other three raising their concerns, Pyrrha suddenly felt determined to help the woman who considered her as her closest friend in the world. Pulling out her phone, Pyrrha quickly looked up Ruby on the web and found her website. She immediately surmised that Ruby was as gay as a sparkly rainbow; the many pictures of LGBT pride marches and a select few shots of Ruby kissing women proved that point home conclusively. _Perfect_, Pyrrha crowed silently, _I can __finally__ play Cupid for Weiss and make her happy_.

"Okay, you're up next Pyrrha!", Ruby called out as Weiss approached the band.

* * *

Over the next twenty minutes, Ivory Frost completed all of their singular shots, with Ruby proving to be a cheerful, encouraging and yet focused worker – no pun intended. However, once Jaune had finished with his photos, Ruby called the whole band over for two more shots.

"I've got an idea for a couple of humourous shots, should you be willing to provide your fans on the web with something to laugh at."

"Good thinking, Ruby!", Nora replied elatedly. "It'd be a good way to tease the album too."

"What did you have in mind for the two photos?", Weiss enquired.

"For the first one, we'll have you guys run away from the pier's edge in fright, like a kaiju film or something. As for the second, we'll do you guys cowering behind some crates by the boardwalk, like you're escaping from jail or something."

"Like the cover to _Band On The Run_," Ren realised. "Clever thinking, Ruby."

Five minutes and four attempts each later, Ruby was finished for the day, and so was Ivory Frost.

"Thanks for having me, guys," Ruby said as she shook hands with the band members. "I'd be happy to take more photographs for you in the future!"

"We'll be sure to remember that," Pyrrha thanked while slipping a card into Ruby's hand. "Here's our record company's business card if you want more work from them."

"Thanks Pyrrha!", Ruby jovially responded as she placed the card in her wallet. "At least I won't have to schmooze around at networking events to get more work. Have a good day guys!"

"Bye Ruby!", the band chorused as Ruby skipped happily towards her car. As Ren fished out his picnic blanket and Jaune whipped out some heavy-duty sunscreen, Pyrrha smiled in the knowledge that the business card she'd given Ruby had three things scrawled along the back – Weiss's address, the name of Weiss's favourite coffee shop, and a single instruction.

_For Weiss's sake, please seduce her._

* * *

The following Friday was Weiss's twenty-fifth birthday. Ivory Frost's fans flooded their social media with their congratulations and well-wishing, the band themselves had arranged for a meal at six-thirty at an upscale steak house, and even Winter and Whitley managed to clear holes in their schedules to have lunch at Weiss's house for a couple of hours. All in all, Weiss was looking forward to a day of relaxation before a night out with her colleagues.

But when Weiss came to the door after a muesli breakfast, she noticed a solitary card in the mailbox. Given that her siblings and the band would be handing out their gifts when Weiss caught up with them, she had no ostensible clue as to whom this came from.

Picking it up, she noted the neat handwriting on the envelope and began to open it. "Probably from Ozpin," Weiss guessed. The image that adorned the card proved that assertion completely wrong. It was a picture of Ivory Frost running from a Godzilla-sized Corgi on the marina. The caption atop the picture simply read "Don't panic!", and it marked the only time Weiss came within spitting distance of vomiting due to laughter.

Opening the card, Weiss noticed an index card with Ruby's number written on it, along with a request to see her at four that afternoon for a drink at her favourite cafe. "Hmm," Weiss murmured to herself, "that sounds reasonable. May as well do it."

So, just before the stroke of four, Weiss had arrived at her favourite haunt – the Bunny Warren cafe. The singer looked unflappable in her grey-blue silk dress and heels, and her distinctive ponytail was immaculate. In short, she didn't look out of place at the classiest cosplay cafe that ever existed. The Warren was the only place that the wealthy deigned to indulge in informal service.

As usual, the cafe was filled with bourgeois bohemians and internet lurkers. Fortunately, Weiss's long-standing patronage of the place meant that she got a private booth every time she came here. Her favourite was upstairs, with a window overlooking the hills towards the east.

Ascending to the top of the stairs, Weiss was greeted by her new friend. Ruby looked _stunning _in her outfit, which was a carmine-hued dress with a quasi-Hawaiian floral pattern in vermilion and tangerine. A simple pair of black knee-high boots adorned her otherwise bare legs, giving Weiss good reason to blush furiously.

* * *

"Wow ...", was the only thing an awestruck singer was capable of saying at first. "H-hi Ruby," she recovered as Ruby spun around.

"Hey Weiss!", the cheerful photographer greeted. "I only realised today that I know the head server here; she was a classmate of mine in film school, and we went to coffee shops all the time between classes."

"Is that right?", Weiss asked with some surprise. "In nearly three years of patronage here, I never realised that Velvet was much of a shutterbug."

"_Oh_, you wouldn't_ believe!_", Ruby exclaimed as she and Weiss entered the booth. "She's got one of the best feeds on Insta that I've ever seen! She does nature, weddings, parades – even her own barista art!"

Weiss was _visibly _impressed; who'd have guessed that the affable, meek Australian was a closet camera fiend?

"So, anyway," Ruby continued as she picked up a menu, "what did you think of the card I sent you?"

"Ruby, I nearly broke a rib laughing at it," Weiss calmly deadpanned, with a small smile capping the sentence. The smile that emerged on Ruby's cherubic face _instantly _melted Weiss's heart. _Good heavens_, the singer realised, _I __love__ that smile! It's way too "moe"!_ Outwardly, Weiss returned the grin.

"So yes, I loved it, and I can't wait to show it to the band over dinner tonight. By the way, where did you get that shot of the corgi?"

Ruby beamed. "I took that shot myself in front of a green screen. That corgi is Zwei, my dog!"

Weiss couldn't resist a smile upon seeing her new friend light up like a burning Christmas tree. _And she loves animals; yet __another__ reason to like her_. "He seems friendly enough," the singer responded.

"Oh, he _certainly _is!", Ruby giddily enthused. "Two years after I adopted him, he's never bitten or barked at anyone – asides from my sister's best friend."

"How come?"

"She has a cat," Ruby replied.

"Ah, I _see_. Speaking of, you have a sister?"

"Yeah; Yang's her name. She lives a few hours inland, on the other side of the hills. She's a painter."

* * *

Weiss was stunned at what she'd just realised. "Wait a minute … you mean to tell me that Yang Xiao Long's your sister?"

"Yep! How come you know of her?"

"She painted the cover to _The Painter's Hill_, one of my favourite light novels."

Ruby's eyes widened in amazement. "Oh my gosh; you _like _Blake Belladonna's work! She's that cat owner that Zwei doesn't like."

Weiss chuckled, having derived great amusement at the thought of an author getting harassed by an adorable little corgi. "Perhaps you could photoshop a picture of her as the unsuspecting Ann Darrow to Zwei's King Kong?"

Ruby laughed diabolically at this suggestion. "Weiss, I'll do just that when her birthday rolls around next month."

"Good to know," Weiss replied with equal faux villainy. At that point, Velvet joined them.

"G'day guys," she greeted in her soft banana-bender brogue. "What would you two like?"

"Tall black for me please, Velvet," Weiss replied.

"The usual for me," Ruby added cheerfully.

Velvet grimaced at this; not because Ruby's order was difficult to make, but any coffee enthusiast would get nightmares if served the concoction Ruby had requested.

"OK," she replied. "One tall black and one flat white with five."

Weiss was so surprised, her eyebrows nearly jumped off of her face in response. It was only after Velvet walked down the stairs that Weiss regained the ability to speak.

"D – do you have a perverse want to catch diabetes or something?! What _gives_, Ruby?"

Ruby shyly smiled. "No; I just wanted to taste something as sweet as you."

Weiss blushed purple in response to that, having realised just _how _much Ruby truly wanted to know her. _Judging by her nervous energy_, she considered, _I'd say Pyrrha put her up to doing this to me_. A smile formed on her face at this. _I'll be sure to thank her for this tonight_.

* * *

They talked for the next hour as they enjoyed their coffees, discussing Weiss's crazy touring experiences and the paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle that Ruby had to live as a freelance photographer. The looks that Ruby and Weiss gave one another throughout the date left no doubt in their minds that a second date was on the cards.

Eventually, Weiss got a text from Nora, asking about when she'd like to be picked up. "In ten minutes, from the Bunny Warren," Weiss enunciated into her phone's voice recognition. As the text got sent, Weiss turned to face Ruby as she handed Velvet her credit card.

"So Ruby," Weiss asked politely, "what are you up to this coming week? I'd love to take you on a date soon enough."

Ruby blushed slightly and beamed. "Well, I've got a few more commissions coming up this week, but I'll be free on Saturday if all goes well. Hopefully the label will have work lined up for me after that weekend."

"Well, I'll meet you at mine on Saturday at noon, after I return from holiday, and I'll take you for a walk in the bush and maybe some lunch," Weiss replied as Velvet returned the card. "I certainly hope our label has more photo opportunities for you – no pun intended."

Ruby giggled. "Same here. Anyway, have fun with the rest of the band tonight!"

Weiss nodded, "I will. But before I leave, I want to give you something."

Weiss stood up and typed a number into her phone, then showed it to Ruby.

"That's my mobile phone number. Feel free to text me at any hour of the day."

Ruby eagerly saved it into her contacts page. "Even the ungodly ones?"

"_Especially_ the ungodly ones," replied the inveterate night owl.

Ruby laughed angelically, and Weiss's smile melted Velvet's heart as she walked away. _Jesus, Weiss is going quite fast_, the Brisbane native thought to herself. After all, she'd known Weiss long enough to know what sort of bush Weiss preferred to enter.

* * *

The Portly Hunter played host to Ivory Frost that night, being among the best quality steak-houses in the area. Each of them ordered their steaks, got their drinks of choice, and began to talk.

"So Weiss," Pyrrha asked, "how did the rest of today go for you?"

"Better than expected, actually," Weiss admitted. "Winter got me a backstage pass to her latest film project, while Whitley decided to score me a holiday at a villa north of the city for a week."

"Hopefully you won't go alone," Nora said with her suggestive verve.

Weiss's eyes lit up. "Well, I could take someone else there. Probably Ruby, given her not-so-secret crush on me."

"How do you figure that, Weiss?", Jaune asked naively.

"Because she took me out on a date to the Bunny Warren today, and I've never had anyone flirt with me so brazenly in my life," Weiss deadpanned, before smirking coyly. "Due in no small part to Pyrrha's matchmaking, of course."

Pyrrha spat out her drink, and Ren and Nora were visibly stunned; they'd been clued in on Pyrrha's little scheme earlier that morning, and consequently seemed quite shocked that Weiss had _figured it out_. Jaune, being unable to keep secrets to save his life, hadn't been told, and was even _more _surprised than his bandmates. Still, he smiled.

"That's great to hear, Weiss," he beamed. "Hope things work out with her."

Weiss blushed and smiled. "I hope so too."

The next weekend, Weiss returned from a week of retreat in the northern villa Whitley had kindly arranged for her. Despite it being a holiday, she'd managed to thrash out four sets of lyrics for the next album. Two of them were inspired by the woman that was due to show up, and the titles were easier to come up with than usual – they were Shine and Not Fall In Love. She'd had a good feeling about them as song titles, but she'd need Jaune and Pyrrha to work their magic on those before she dreamed of releasing them.

It didn't hurt that Ruby had been sending texts to Weiss for a fair portion of her holiday, letting her know about the photoshoots that Ozpin got her to do for other artists on the label, and the antics she and Zwei got up too with their neighbour Oscar. Weiss was surprised to learn that Oscar and Ruby dated one another in high school before both of them realised that they swung the other way, but remained best friends ever since. _If only my exes were that friendly when breaking up with me_, Weiss enviously reflected upon hearing that story.

* * *

So when the clock struck noon, Weiss dressed in a blue-white summer dress, with a pair of matching heels around her feet. Knowing what she was prepared to do, she wore matching undergarments – both were white and lacy. Her hair was loose, and the faintest touch of mascara and lipstick was evident on her face.

A knock on the door indicated the arrival of her date, and Weiss gleefully opened the door. The sight that confronted her was incredible. Ruby was wearing a black skirt suit, with matching leather gloves and heels. The white shirt and red rose in her lapel was the only relief of colour on her person. Ruby looked striking, and the riding crop Weiss noticed in her jacket was enough to set her heart into overdrive.

"Hello, Weiss," Ruby said with a surprising degree of sultriness.

"Welcome, Ruby. Did Pyrrha give you a crash course on domination?"

Ruby blanched as Weiss began to laugh. Then Weiss shut the door behind Ruby, ordered a pizza for one-thirty, and took Ruby to her room for the best shag either of them had had in their entire lives.

After the pizza arrived, Ruby and Weiss sat around the kitchen table to have a well-earned lunch.

"So," Weiss said after finishing her last slice of Hawaiian, "did the label put you through onto more work?"

"Yes and no," Ruby admitted, before demolishing the pepperoni side of the pizza. "I've been retained as your photographer, but I'm not sure if I can do more photos for your label mates, so I'm still worried about my income long-term."

Weiss then had a brain-wave. "Actually, you won't need to worry about it. What if you also handled Ivory Frost's social media and film clips? I mean, you _did _go to film school, after all, and I know Pyrrha and the others would be happy to have you work with us."

Ruby was stunned at Weiss's sudden generosity, but realised that the preceding hour and a half's activities may have had something to do with that.

"That … I … I don't know what to say, Weiss. Other than thanks!"

Weiss kissed Ruby on the cheek. "Then you needn't say a thing at all, Ruby."

Ruby's resultant smile drove Weiss's heart wild with passion. Soon enough, lunch was forgotten as the two women went at it on the lounge room carpet. Twice. _Very_ slowly.

* * *

Two months later, Ivory Frost's second album, _Rosethorn_, was released to acclaim from critics and fans alike. "Shine", written by Weiss and Pyrrha, was the breakout single, and Ruby's film clip was glorious to behold – featuring Weiss singing the song alone on a ballroom stage, while the rest of the band pretended to meet one another in the crowded masquerade for the first time, fall in love and do a synchronised dance number together during the last chorus.

The video Ruby had whipped up for Not Fall In Love was amazing too – even if Jaune injured his backside while pretending to be a roller derby player trying to impress Pyrrha with his singing. As a sign of friendship, and acknowledgement of her obvious talent, Winter had offered to help Ruby get a start in the city's film industry whenever she felt like it, and Whitley was quick to extend his friendship as well. It was no surprise that Ruby Rose was quickly getting dubbed a genius in cinematic circles.

The cover art was Ruby's genius too – but in a different way. After going over things with the band, she'd simply commissioned her sister to paint a white rose, with blood dripping off the thorns. It took a mere four hours for Yang to finish the work, five minutes for Ruby to take a picture of the work, and one hour to develop the liner note design that the band had requested.

But none of that really mattered to Weiss. Sure, it was great that Ruby did all this and more for the band, but it wouldn't have mattered to her if she didn't. Because in her mind, she and her adorable girlfriend completed one another.

Where Ruby was impulsive and zany, Weiss was calm and grounded.

Where Weiss was set in her ways, Ruby was forgiving.

Whenever Weiss felt undeserving of her fame, Ruby cheered her up.

Whenever Ruby needed to be picked up, Weiss became her shoulder to cry and lean on.

But most importantly, the singer and the photographer loved one another more than life itself.

* * *

**A/N: And here's what I've worked on whenever my brain can't come up with stuff for Amaryllis and Aconite.**

**This is set in the same world as The Painter and the Writer by momoxtoshiro, and it's also a response to the subreddit's writing challenge this week due to the fast romance - which isn't something I usually like in a fic. But with Weiss being starved of romance and Ruby too worried about making rent to pursue love, jumping bones on the second date isn't too surprising.**

**Hope you all enjoy this one. See you in a week or two.**


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